A Fighter's Undeserved
by Sia86
Summary: 2011, AU. Pumyra wanders the Spirit Realm after her physical body is killed but unable to give up on her, Lion'O retrieves her soul. When she revives she is seen only as a traitor by the others and for Lion'O's sake is returned to the Pit Master.


I got the inspiration to write this story from Lionjustice. It is AU and the characters might be OOC.

I don't own any of the characters. All reviews welcome!

Pumyra dies but Lion'O refuses to let her go and goes to the Spirit Realm to recover her soul. When she awakens she is seen only as a traitor and a derailment and is returned to her previous gladiatorial Master.

* * *

Heavy mist hung over the moist earth. No moon or stars decorated the twilight sky, tall trees with gnarled braches and twisted roots lined a pathway of sorts through the mist. An overall heavy, depressing feeling hung in the air. Long shadows crept over the land, the only source of light being the pale gray mist.

A lone figure pushed past several low hanging branches. "Where are you?" she called. A soft thudding noise echoed through the forest along with a muffled voice. The thudding began to slow and eventually cease when the voice became too distorted to make out any words. The female stopped in mid step, her ears drooped and she half lidded her eyes; no one was calling out for her. "It was just me over hearing…" she said sadly, hating that she grew hopeful of a voice that wasn't calling out to her.

"Child you mustn't lose hope," her amber eyes trailed up to see the ghostly form of the ex-Cleric leader, Jaga.

"Don't call me 'child'-you know what I've done…This is what I deserve." She tried to cover her hurt with bitterness.

"If this is what you truly thought you deserved then why do you grow hopeful when you hear a voice?" His blue transparent form inquired as she turned to leave. "Pumyra?"

"Say it Cleric, tell me all the wrong I've done-"

"You were a puppet,"

"I KNEW what I was doing…I gave in to my hate." She cut in; remembering every lie and fake smile. The way she pretended was so vivid and believable that at times she believed her own lies. Her eyes shut tightly, tears welding up at the corners while her teeth clamped tightly against each other. "I'm never getting out of here and I just have to learn to accept it." She headed back the way she came leaving the Cleric behind. Jaga watched as the lucid form of the tormented girl left and then shook his head in disappointment; the soul was desperately trying to find her true faith.

When she felt his presence entirely gone she leapt onto one of the twisted roots and scooted back to have her back against the dry bark. Off in the distance she saw several lights of the wandering souls. Ashamed to have to call herself one of them and worse waiting for someone to save her when it was clear that no one wanted anything to do with her. She thought back when she first emerged from the Well of Souls in Mumm Ra's lair and how relieved she felt. But it only lasted seconds before the thoughts of hate, revenge and blood filled her head.

Her fingers dug into the thick bark before she looked around and saw souls gathered around. Many held the face of sadness and mourning while others of malice towards her. She mouthed the word 'sorry' and slipped off the other side before breaking into a run. Usually she wasn't so careless and made sure she didn't stay in one spot too long since the dead were very territorial. Right away the mist engulfed her as if this realm would never let her go even if she truly didn't belong there.

As she ran her ears picked up the voice again hearing it lifted her heart and made her feel less lonely. "Who's there?" she asked under her breath. The words became clearer but the voice became distant. The dead cat stopped in her tracks; she let herself be fooled again. Her brows scrunched and her teeth bared before she began screaming. She was never the kind to bottle her anger and her screams proved it. "I don't belong to the dead!" The blame was pointed towards Lion'O for letting her die in the first place and making her hold this rage for so long.

She fell over onto her knees after screaming her lungs out. Her mouth felt dry but she didn't feel any better. Forgiving herself was not an option if she acted out on her own free will, but although she knew she deserved this punishment she didn't want to accept it. She was only eighteen when that wall collapsed on top of her; she deserved to live a life not risk herself for the boy king's. Her eyes stared at her hands and how they began to sink through the moist earth. What scared her most was that if someone did care to try and save her it be too late because she'd been dead too long or she'd already become one with the Spirit Realm. "Am I too guilty and angry to be saved?!" she called as she sunk deeper and deeper until the amber glow of her eyes disappeared completely.

Panthro watched the motionless body of Pumyra with disdain. Even when dead he still didn't trust her and now that he waited for her to revive he had much doubt. But it was Lion-O who refused to let the traitor go. What shocked him more was when Lion-O released her from Mumm Ra's hold she still tried to attack him.

The dim light that shone over her created a sense of death. Her face looked calm and surprisingly peaceful but that wasn't the way she died; in a face off Lion'O had been forced to plunge the Sword of Omens through her heart which freed her physically from Mumm Ra. It was a dark end for the puma but somehow she still had Lion'O's trust and he traveled to the Spirit Realm to find her soul. In the panther's mind Pumyra didn't deserve anything.

He sighed and leaned back against the metallic wall. The seconds of eerie silence turned to minutes and eventually hours. Nothing happened. Panthro shook his head and switched off the light; it wouldn't be easy to explain to the kid that Pumyra hadn't made it. A sudden movement caught his eye and he turned back to see the puma stirring. It had been a prayer to God that the traitor wouldn't awake but Panthro flipped the lights back on and approached the table.

His dark eyes trailed over her to see if it might've just been a reflex but the stirring ceased. "Pumyra," he spoke but the body didn't move. He shrugged it off and turned away when a loud thud sounded behind him. Slowly turning back he saw a bloody Pumyra with a metal scrap piece being forced out of her chest. His eyes widened as the blood began drying and crusting on her limbs, dress and face while the metal fell out onto the floor with a louder metallic thud. Her panting stopped and her amber eyes opened wide. She looked full of killer intent and he reached back to whip out his nun chucks.

Her amber eyes glowed against her crimson coated fur, just the intent look in them caused him to bristle. She reached out and sharply splayed her fingers to make sure he saw her long sharp claws, "Tell 'my' king that I just raised from hell…" A wide smirk formed across her face before she fell over onto her side. Panthro thought that surely some fight would ensue but he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one had seen anything.

Dusk was already taking over the sky with a few lightning bugs fluttering about. Panthro, Cheetara and Tygra stood far from the Thunder Tank, faces etched with seriousness. A large metal box sat close to them. Tygra was the first to speak, "I have no problems with any of this but still-to those flea bags?"

"I've been around them Tygra, and they punish justly." Panthro replied with eyes staring off towards the horizon.

"I don't want justly- I want the most bloodiest and gore possible." He received a look from the ex-general, "Remember I'm also king."

Cheetara's ruby gaze darted from Tygra, the cage and Panthro; usually she'd be the one to say that Lion'O should be informed. But this time she agreed with the panther a hundred percent; if they could avoid heart ache then they would. "Cheetara it's best for Lion'O and the future of Thundera." He said trying to help her drop the excess doubt. She nodded and he continued looking out. "He's here." Panthro called as his old friend came into view.

Vintage styled wheels being trekked through the gravel and dirt pathways echoed. The three cats saw that Dobo stood on the cargo holder, feet shoulder width apart and arms loosely crossed, with three dog gladiators around him. Their scrap metal wagon was being pulled by a rapidly spinning, spiked sphere. As they looked closer the sphere was Mordax's detachable head and it was sufficient through the kind of terrain around them. A few minutes passed before they saw Dobo leap from the cargo holder and chuck his sheathed sword in front of Mordax's head.

Tygra and Cheetara's eyes widened as the massive sphere neared the blade that probably be destroyed but to their surprise the 'motor' stopped. Panthro smirked, "Dobo always knew the finest black smiths." Then the Doberman approached with the other dogs following. When they stood across one another, they mutually greeted. "I wish this meeting was for something else besides this, Dobo."

The Doberman nodded, "I see you brought some friends…" his yellow eyes glanced over the cheetah and tiger. Those were the cats that couldn't fend off a few lizards and now he was waiting to see the troublesome wily kittens. Tygra noticed the tone he used when he said 'friend' and softly growled; he already got that condescending attitude from the birds, he didn't need it from the mutts too.

"Keep it civil, Tygra." Panthro hissed turning back to see a smirk on Dobo's face. "I need a favor old friend."

"I'm sure you do Panthro," the Pit Master's voice was hoarse as he crossed his arms again.

The ex-general growled, "This is no joke Dobo-we have your former gladiator."

"I've had several former fighters-"

"But not one that's earned your respect, you freed, and then you later faced one last time in Avista." Dobo's eyes widened and he continued, "She's a hazard to our king and everything we've fought for."

"So what? You want to make her my problem?!"

Panthro knew Dobo wouldn't want to do it but he was willing to lose his friendship with the dog to get rid of Pumyra, "You've known her longer and you've also been affected by her betrayal. I'm handing her over to you and you can punish her as you see fit." Every word caused guilt to twist at his stomach; he was trying to dump the traitor on Dobo. "As a favor Dobo, take back your fighter-take her off all our hands." Panthro saw the dog's fists balling behind his arms; obviously he wanted to take the traitor prisoner once more.

"I'll take back my gladiator." Dobo walked past Tygra and Cheetara to the well hidden cage. He motioned for the others to load the cell into the cargo holder. The usual money aspect didn't affect his judgment only the want to rip her apart. When the cage was loaded and the three dogs stood on the cargo holder Dobo, "You want the cat gone forever? Then you never come to Argos looking for her. But Panthro I can't promise that at some point she won't reappear. After all cats manage to escape without anyone knowing." His yellow gaze turned away while he removed his sword from the dirt and then leapt back onto the cargo as the sphere began running again.

The three cats watched as the dogs left, "Is that a threat from a god-damn dog?!" Tygra spat. "He's going to let her escape?"

"He's a dog of his word-he wouldn't go back on friend's deal like that, would he?" Cheetara questioned after trying to reassure Tygra. Her eyes shifted over the Panthro, "Why would he say that Panthro is he still angry about you escaping?"

"It's no threat-Pumyra will be dead again by morning. Like all traitors should be."


End file.
